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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Guest Post with Caridad Pineiro (+Giveaway)

I'm pleased to have Caridad Pineiro on the blog today. Woohoo! I can't wait to read this one. She's going to tell us a bit about Tatiana from To Catch a Princess. Take it away, Caridad! :)

Caridad Pineiro: I was a Teenaged Princess and it wasn’t easy. My parents were always on my case about doing the right things and being with the right people. Everywhere I went I had a bodyguard around to keep away those nasty paparazzi who were just dying to catch me in a compromising position.

When my brother, Alexander, opened up the casino in Atlantic City, I jumped at the chance to live with him and go to school in the States. There I could just be Tatiana and not have to deal with all the craziness of being a princess.

I loved it so much that when I finished college in Philadelphia, there was no way I was going back to Russia to live with my parents. Or Paris or Monaco or London or any of the other places they have homes.

Yeah, we’re that wealthy. Filthy rich as you Americans would say, but I have tried not to let that get to my head. I’m not that kind of girl although I do enjoy the luxuries of it. But I love working hard as well and I’ve had such an amazing time of it in Atlantic City with my brother.

The casinos and hotels are a challenge, especially with the economy taking a downturn. Not to mention Hurricane Sandy which did major damage when it blew through a year ago. We pitched in to help our fellow Jersey residents and we survived that storm, but it’s been hard work.

Like I said, I don’t mind hard work, even if I’m a princess. But I do mind my parents telling me what to do and would you believe they’ve actually cooked up some crazy marriage bargain with a Grand Duke? I thought they were crazy at first since the Grand Duke must be 80 and there was no way I was going to marry an eighty-year old, but then it turned out my husband-to-be is his son.

Not that I have any intention of honoring that bargain. I want to choose my own husband. One that I love. One that’s honorable and reliable, like Detective Peter Roman, Alexander’s best friend. Not that I’ll admit it to anyone that I think Peter is sexy and hot and . . .

No way, I am not going to think about him or this crazy marriage bargain. In a couple of weeks I’m supposed to fly off to Monaco to put the finishing touches on a big charity event we’re holding at our casino there. Millions in jewelry and designer gowns and I’m responsible for all of them.

Let’s hope everything goes as planned! This is my first big event at the casino and I don’t want anything to go wrong!

Thanks for coming by to find out a little more about me (and wish me luck with Peter. He really is quite sexy! :)

Blurb: Untold wealth, a loving family, a solid career in America: the only
thing Princess Tatiana lacks is the one thing she really doesn’t want—a
husband. Unfortunately, her parents have just arranged her marriage to a
royal from the old country. Are they kidding? It’s the twenty-first
century!

Police Detective Peter Roman is a royal living incognito … and
escaping a secret that has haunted his family for years. He’s been
quietly in love with his best friend Prince Alexander’s sister for as
long as he can remember. Little does she know that he is secretly the
Grand Duke to whom she is unwillingly betrothed…

When a series of high-end jewelry heists threatens Tatiana’s
exclusive charity exhibition in glamorous Monaco, the two must trap the
clever jewel thief before he strikes again. In a fight for their lives,
Peter’s secret identity is revealed. With danger and passion increasing
to the breaking point, she must decide: catch a thief…or trust the heart
of her true love.

Excerpt: "Whirling from the mirror, she snatched a dark charcoal grey wrap from
her bed and tossed it over her shoulders. Monaco was far warmer than
the winter weather in New Jersey, but the night air could sometimes hold
a chill.

She rushed into the shared living room, otherwise known as the
demilitarized zone. She stopped short at the sight of him standing
there, looking anything but scruffy. Or rumpled. Or anything but
devastatingly handsome and sexy. In fact, she blinked just to make sure
of what she was seeing.

She had found him attractive before, even with the slight shadow of
beard on his face, the longish, sometimes unruly brown hair, and the
bargain basement suits that failed to hide the lean sculpted physique
beneath them.
Now he literally took her breath away.

She had to gulp in some air and press a hand to her midsection to contain the curl of desire as she took in all the changes.

His face was freshly shaven and the lack of stubble showed off the
sharp, crisp lines of his jaw and a mouth that had hers watering for a
taste. His thick cocoa-colored hair had been cut short in stylish
layers, although the top locks were still a little longer and still a
little rumpled, as if he had run his fingers through them.

The suit. . .well, the suit was luscious. It hugged a body that could
grace any fashion magazine, and made her want to see what was beneath.
If she was honest with herself, she had been hoping for another look for
quite some time. Summer on the Jersey Shore could not come fast enough.

At her prolonged, stunned examination, he grinned. That sexy, dimpled
grin that sent a wave of heat through her, especially when his gaze
settled on hers and she saw his interest reflected right back at her.

He held out his hands in a check-me-out gesture and said, “So do I pass muster, Your Highness?”

Boy, did he ever. He was every inch the prince she now knew him to
be, and despite the fact that she wasn’t sure she could trust him and
was angry with him, it was difficult to battle the desire he roused in
every inch of her body. She walked to him, reached out, and straightened
his tie just a bit. Then she trailed her hand down to rest in the
center of his chest and with a mocking smile said, “You really clean up
nice.”

The grin broadened. He laid a hand at her waist and skimmed his gaze along her body. “You look pretty in pink.”"

Author Bio: New York Times and USA Today bestselling paranormal and romantic
suspense author Caridad Pineiro wrote her first novel in the fifth grade
when her teacher assigned a project – to write a book for a class
lending library. Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her
passion for the written word and in 1999, Caridad’s first novel was
released. Over a decade later, Caridad is the author of more than thirty
published novels and novellas. When not writing, Caridad is an
attorney, wife and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista.